


I'll prove you wrong

by Gilrael



Series: Paraphernalia [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, F/M, Getting Together, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-05-30 15:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15100064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilrael/pseuds/Gilrael
Summary: Once Akiteru spotted a girl walk up to his desk with a suitcase in tow, he squared his shoulders.“Hello! New student?” he asked with the friendliest smile he could muster before suddenly he realised who was standing before him right now.“Yeah,” Tanaka replied and pointed at the cardboard sign that was stuck to the table. “And this is where I register for the dorm, I presume?”~~~Being one of the first students in the newly established mind-healing course at university, Saeko is ready to prove everyone wrong, especially those people who had shunned her in high school.Meanwhile, Akiteru never expected to meet his old crush from high school in his third year of university and quickly realises that his taste in women hasn't changed at all.





	1. High-school woes

**Author's Note:**

> And the modern fantasy AU is back, this time with a focus on AkiSae! I've been including them as a background ship in my fics for ages, and it's time that they get their time in the spotlight.  
> There's no need to read any of the previous instalments of this series. Just read [this short post](https://gilrael.tumblr.com/post/166794608203/the-setting-of-runes-and-spellbooks) about the setting of this AU and you can jump right in!

Whenever Saeko's parents would wax poetic about their time at high school, revelling in memories that they viewed through rose-coloured glasses, Saeko would leave the room as quickly as possible. She had heard it all before, and having just started her second year at Karasuno High School, she had yet to experience any of the joys her parents recounted. It wasn't for a lack of trying. She had joined the Wadaiko drumming club in her first year and made friends there, but none of that had lasted very long.

In the summer of her first year at high school, Saeko had developed a natural glamour. With her mother having a talent for elemental magic, her father being mundane, and nobody else in Saeko's ancestry having had a talent for mind-manipulation, it had come as quite the shock.

A shock that immediately ruined any hope of Saeko having a normal school life.

She'd had to drop out of the club because of harassment, and her “friends” had suddenly started distancing themselves from her. The three weeks it took Saeko to gain control over her magic had been enough to make people distrust her on a level that wasn't easily mended. Now, almost a year later, she still had to deal with people either avoiding her or being outright hostile.

She couldn't even go and use the bathroom in peace.

“Stay away from my boyfriend,” Ayako growled, shoving Saeko against the tiled wall.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Saeko replied once she'd shaken off the shock of being suddenly confronted by her classmate. “I didn't even know you had a boyfriend!”

“Very funny,” Ayako snorted and took a step closer. “ _Everyone_ knows that me and Junichi are an item.”

It took Saeko a second to realise that Ayako was talking about that third-year student in the library committee who'd helped her out with finding a book she'd wanted to read during lunch.

“Oh fuck off!” Saeko rolled her eyes and pushed Ayako's shoulder, but the girl wouldn't budge. “Sakabe-senpai was on library duty. Who else was I supposed to ask for help?”

“I don't care. Just stay away from him, you manipulative bitch!”

Maybe Saeko should've been used to being called names at this point. She probably should've shrugged it off like she always did. But every instance of noticing how people talked behind her back and of people insulting her to her face had been chipping away at her, slowly wearing down the thread of her patience until it snapped.

An hour later, Saeko and Ayako were sitting in the headmaster's office with their mothers.

“She cornered me in the bathroom and called me a manipulative bitch for asking Sakabe-senpai for a book in the library,” Saeko defended herself.

“That is not a reason to punch someone,” the headmaster chided, gesturing towards Ayako who was pressing a bag of ice against her swollen cheek.

“My daughter could've been seriously hurt!” Ayako's mother chimed in.

“She was the one who started it, though!” Saeko tried to argue, but her own mother put a hand on her shoulder. As Saeko turned to look at her face, her mother shook her head.

“My daughter reacted poorly, and I sincerely apologise,” Saeko's mother said calmly. “My husband and I will make sure to punish her accordingly.”

“That's good to hear,” the headmaster said. “From the school's side, Saeko will have to write a two-page reflection essay.”

Saeko was about to protest again, but her mother's grip on her shoulder tightened. Saeko felt betrayed. Was nobody going to acknowledge the fact that Ayako had been threatening her and calling her names?

“A reflection essay?” Ayako's mother scoffed. “How is that an appropriate punishment?”

“Well, this is Saeko's first offence,” the headmaster said, defensively putting up his hands. “She hasn't shown any violent behaviour so far, so I don't think there is any need to–”

“No violent behaviour? Wasn't she the one who glamoured half the school last year?” Ayako's mother asked. “If manipulating peoples' minds without consent isn't violent, I don't know what is.”

Saeko was this close to throwing another punch, and she would have, hadn't it been for her mother putting another hand on her shoulders, effectively forcing Saeko to remain in her seat.

“We can't punish students for having a natural glamour. That would be against the law,” the headmaster insisted.

“Well, if she ever comes near my daughter again, I will make sure that there are consequences, even if that means getting the police involved!” Ayako's mother huffed.

“I'm sure that won't be necessary,” Saeko's mother said. “Right, honey?”

Saeko wasn't going to make promises she couldn't keep, so she just crossed her arms in front of her chest and grunted. The headmaster seemed eager enough to take that as a yes.

“That settles that!” he announced, clapping his hands. “Hand in your essay by the end of the week, Saeko. And Ayako, you should go to the nurse's office to get some new ice before you leave.”

Stepping out of the office, Saeko was ready to follow her mother outside to her car, eager to get away from Ayako and her mother, but Saeko's mother had one more thing to say.

“By the way, Kimura-san,” she called out, smiling pleasantly, “you should teach your daughter some manners.”

“Excuse me?” Ayako's mother bristled. “My daughter is not the one going around punching people!”

“Yeah, but mine doesn't call other girls manipulative bitches,” Saeko's mother shot back before grabbing Saeko's hand and leading her out of the school building.

“Ugh, never liked that woman in the first place,” Saeko's mother muttered under her breath when they finally got in the car. “Let's stop at the corner shop on our way back. You deserve one of those ice cream bars you like so much.”

“What about my punishment?” Saeko asked as she put on her seatbelt.

“As if I was going to punish you for standing up for yourself,” her mother replied, rolling her eyes. “I just wanted to get you out of there as fast as possible. If someone asks, I took away your laptop.”

Sometimes Saeko forgot just how awesome her mother was, but she'd never appreciated her more than in moments like this.

“Thanks, Mum.”

 

The rumours about Saeko punching Ayako spread like wildfire, causing people to avoid Saeko more than they had before. There was a noticeable shift towards people avoiding Saeko instead of being confrontational. On the one hand, this meant that Saeko could finally walk around the school in peace. On the other, it meant that Saeko was even more lonely and isolated than she had been before. If it hadn't been for her magic lessons with Master Ukai, she wouldn't have had anyone to talk to outside of her family.

The old geezer and his students didn't hold any prejudice against people cursed with natural glamours. Master Ukai taught her like he taught all his students, fostering her talent for magic while being relentlessly strict.

“Are you really sure that this is what a glamour protection rune looks like?” Master Ukai asked, raising a single eyebrow at the swirl Saeko had drawn on his wrist.

“Um... Yes?” Saeko replied, suddenly unsure of her own work.

“Would you risk activating this rune?”

Master Ukai was clearly testing her, but Saeko had no idea what the right answer was.

“Er, would you let me check my spellbook?” she asked. Master Ukai nodded. Frantically, Saeko flipped through the pages until she found the table listing the different kinds of protection runes. Comparing the one in the book to the one she had drawn on Master Ukai's wrist, she couldn't spot a difference.

“I think it's fine?”

“Then activate it.”

Saeko took a deep breath before grabbing Master Ukai's hand and saying the incantation. The rune glowed for a second before it stopped.

“Would you risk using your glamour on me now?”

Saeko shuddered at the thought. “No. I'd never let it get out of hand again.”

“Good.” Master Ukai patted her on the back. “But you need to work on your confidence, Tanaka. You're an amazingly talented magician and if you ever want to be in a magic program at university, you'll have to be more confident.”

“It's not like I could ever get a scholarship,” Saeko replied, the words leaving a bitter aftertaste. There were no departments for mind-manipulation magic in Japan.

“And why would that stop you from studying magic?” Master Ukai asked. “Just because you're best with glamours doesn't mean you can't study anything else.”

“I won't be able to afford tuition,” Saeko mumbled.

“Then save up for it. Nobody said you have to go to university right after high school. You are talented, Tanaka. It would be a shame if you never took the chance to prove all the people who look down on you for having a natural glamour wrong.”

It took some days for the idea to truly take root in Saeko's mind, but the more time she spent thinking about how nice it would be to someday attend university and to graduate with a degree in some kind of magic, the more she was tempted to follow Master Ukai's advice. She would have to work her ass off and earn a bunch of money beforehand, but it wasn't impossible.

Saeko had a goal now, and to symbolise the start of her journey a makeover was in order.

 

***

 

“Did you see Tanaka this morning? That second year with the glamour?” Akiteru's classmate Mori-kun asked, having turned around in his chair to face Akiteru.

“No, what's with her?” Akiteru replied as nonchalantly as his galloping heart allowed.

“She bleached her hair,” Mori-kun explained. “I think she's gone full delinquent at this point.”

“It's not like our school particularly cares,” Akiteru said, pointing at his own mop of hair.

Mori snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yours is naturally blond, you dumbass.”

Akiteru shrugged and changed the topic. “Did you finish that essay we had to write for English?”

“Oh fuck, that's due tomorrow, isn't it?” Mori-kun panicked.

“Yep,” Akiteru said simply, relieved that his friend turned around to look for his English textbook in his bag.

Akiteru wasn't particularly keen on talking about Tanaka Saeko for multiple reasons. First of all, he disliked gossip, and most people who brought her up in conversation wanted to badmouth her. Second of all, he didn't want anyone to notice that he  _still_ had a crush on her, although she'd managed to get that natural glamour under control so quickly. But most importantly, he was trying very hard to get over her. There was no way that someone as strong and confident as she was would even want to be friends with a wimp like him. Tanaka falling in love with him seemed even more unlikely.

 

*** _Three and a half years later..._ ***

 

Spring had come late this year, and by the time the new students of Kyoto University arrived at the dorms, there was still a noticeable chill in the air. Akiteru was sitting at a desk by the gate in front of the magicians' dorm complex, welcoming new students as they arrived, checking their ID and giving them the keys to their rooms. He would've never volunteered to do this if he'd known just how cold it would be outside, but here he was, freezing his ass off as he sat hunched over and waited for the next student to be dropped off by their parents.

Once Akiteru spotted another girl walk up to his desk with a suitcase in tow, he squared his shoulders.

“Hello! New student?” he asked with the friendliest smile he could muster before suddenly he realised who was standing before him right now.

Tanaka Saeko hadn't changed a lot since he'd last seen her. She still had bleached hair that she kept relatively short, and she still had a habit of wearing shirts that accentuated her curves. Teenage Akiteru had dreamt about peeling her out of those shirts more than once. Twenty-one-year-old Akiteru knew better than to stare at a woman's breasts even if they were right in front of him.

“Yeah,” Tanaka replied and pointed at the cardboard sign that was stuck to the table. “And this is where I register for the dorm, I presume?”

“Exactly,” Akiteru said, making sure to keep up eye-contact, not wanting to seem like a total creep. “I need to see your ID, please.”

“Wait a second,” Tanaka said, taking off her backpack and rummaging around until she found her wallet. “Here.”

“Oh, could it be that you went to Karasuno High, Tanaka-san?” Akiteru asked as he went to look for her name on the list he'd been given by the dorm supervisors. Chances were slim that there was another Tanaka Saeko her age that wrote her name with the exact same kanji and was born in Akiteru's hometown, but he wanted to make sure lest he embarrass himself.

“Er, yeah? Do I know you?” she asked, frowning.

“I saw your place of birth,” Akiteru explained, ticking off her name when he finally found it on the list. “I went to Karsuno as well. I was a year above you.”

“Oh, so I guess you're not just my senpai at university then,” she said. The slightly mischievous grin on her face made Akiteru's heart skip a beat. Damn, it seemed like his taste in women had barely changed since high school.

Clearing his throat, Akiteru looked up her room number.

“You'll be staying in Building 2, Room 204,” Akiteru said, strangely elated at the thought of living in the same building. “There are ten rooms per floor that share a common area, kitchen, women's and a men's bathrooms. There's one supervisor per building. Don't hesitate to talk to your supervisor if you run into trouble. Here are your ID back and your key.”

Tanaka took them and shouldered her backpack again.

“Thank you very much, er...”

“Tsukishima Akiteru,” Akiteru introduced himself.

“Well, thanks, Tsukishima-san,” Tanaka said waving as she walked towards the building that had a large two painted on the side. Akiteru watched her go, wondering why she was only now starting university, years after she had graduated high school, and hoping that he'd meet her again so he would get a chance to ask her about it.

 


	2. Fresh start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some more AkiSae!

Saeko's first night in the dorm was uneventful. She unpacked her stuff and introduced herself to the people who lived on the same floor as she did. Then she went out to eat at a ramen stall that she had walked past on her way from the train station to the dorm because she hadn't had the chance to go grocery shopping yet.

As Saeko sat and slurped her noodles, she let her mind wander.

Finding out that Tsukishima-san had gone to the same school as her had been a bit of a shock. Not that she remembered ever having had a conversation with him before. She just hadn't expected to meet anyone from her hometown here in Kyoto, but maybe it had been naïve of her to believe that she could leave everything behind. Kyoto University was well-respected so it was only natural that at least some people from her old school had chosen to come here as well.

Well, at least Tsukishima-san hadn't commented on her glamour. Maybe he didn't actually remember her. Yeah, that had to be it. Otherwise, why would he have been so friendly with her? Most people who'd gone to school with her held nothing but contempt towards her.

Saeko lifted the bowl to drink the last bit of broth and set it down again with a satisfied sigh. She was here to get a fresh start in the newly established mind-healing course, and she wouldn't let her past get in the way of her success.

Having paid for her meal, Saeko made her way back to the dorm. It was already growing dark outside, the streetlights flickering on along the side of the road. The magician's dorm was situated in a nice neighbourhood, close to the magician's campus of Kyoto University. Here, Saeko could almost forget that she was now living in a city that was so much larger and more densely populated than her hometown. But she knew, and she relished the fact that she probably wouldn't be recognised by every single person she met out on the street as “that girl with the glamour”. Not that she'd been the only person in town with a glamour. There were also Kiyoko-chan and Kurokawa-kun, but being three people out of a couple thousand still made them stick out like a sore thumb. Being a magician was rare enough, but being a magician with a natural glamour was even more unlikely.

“Tanaka-san?”

Saeko's head snapped up. She hadn't even realised that she'd already passed the gates of the dorm complex. A small group of students was leaving her building, amongst them Tsukishima-san.

“Hello, Tsukishima-san,” she said, nodding in greeting.

“Do you want to join us? We're going out for dinner,” he suggested, his smile as friendly and inviting as it had been earlier that day.

“Er, I ate already,” Saeko said. This would've been a good chance to make some friends here, but she didn't feel like tagging along.

“Oh, next time then.” He sounded regretful for some reason.

“Yeah, next time,” she said, giving a small wave before entering the building.

 

The next day, it was time for Saeko's first lecture. She wasn't sure what exactly she should have expected from a newly established course at university, but thirty students sitting in a tiny classroom wasn't it. Most of her classmates seemed to be older than her, though there appeared to be a few recent high school graduates as well. Among them, much to Saeko's surprise, was Kurokawa-kun. He greeted her with a nod and pointed at the free seat next to him. Saeko gladly took him up on the wordless offer.

“Didn't expect to see you here,” she admitted, getting out her pencil case and notebook. Her kouhai had never shown any ambition to attend university when they had attended lessons with Master Ukai.

Kurokawa-kun shrugged.

“It seemed like a good chance to get away from my old classmates.”

Much like Saeko, Kurokawa-kun had been met with a lot of mistrust from his peers after he'd developed a natural glamour. With his stern facial expression and tall build, however, he'd had fewer people trying to mess with him. But even for a guy like him, the stigma that was attached to mind manipulation was almost impossible to escape.

“I feel that,” Saeko muttered just as their professor entered the room. As she set up her presentation, she introduced herself as Nakashima Ai. She greeted them all with a friendly smile, talking about how she was honoured to be the one to teach them.

“It's been quite a while since I attended university myself,” Nakashima-sensei said. “Like all of you, I have a natural glamour, so I would have had to compete with more talented people in other disciplines of magic had I stayed in Japan. Thus, I decided to study at the University of Canberra in Australia, where I got a degree in mind healing. I am very grateful to Kyoto University for allowing me to teach you, although I haven't been able to practice mind healing since I have returned to Japan. You can all rest assured, however, that I will do my best to instruct you in the basic knowledge that is required to safely practice this kind of magic.”

Saeko paid close attention to everything Nakashima-sensei showed on her slides. It was mostly information on which courses they would have to take over the course of the next five years to achieve a preliminary certificate for mind healing, followed by in-depth info on what their first semester was going to look like.

“Besides this safety lecture, you will be taking the Introduction to Magic Theory lecture and tutorial alongside the other students in the magic department and the Introduction to Psychology lecture and tutorial with the students in the psychology department. After midterms, you will also have to attend daily magic tutorials. Provided that you passed your midterms, of course. Your workload will increase accordingly, so make sure to start working on any assignments in the first half of this term.” Nakashima-sensei clapped her hands and got a stack of paper out of her bag that she had the students pass around the classroom. “Good. With that out of the way, we can start the actual lecture.”

The pace was very different from what Saeko remembered of high school. She barely had time to jot down short notes on the printout of Nakashima-san's slides if she wanted to follow what the professor was saying. Next to her, Kurokawa-kun seemed to be having a similar problem. But despite the quick pace, the topic was highly interesting. None of the spellbooks that Saeko had borrowed from Master Ukai had ever gone into much detail concerning mind manipulation, and after this first lecture, Saeko was pretty sure she knew the reason for this. A lot of the terms the professor had introduced to them were in English, and Nakashima-sensei had kept referring back to her time in Australia.

“We are probably some of the first Japanese people to learn about all of this, aren't we?” Saeko said to Kurokawa-kun as they packed up their things after the lecture. “Not counting people like Nakashima-sensei who went to study abroad, of course.”

“Probably,” Kurokawa-kun agreed and looked down at his phone. “We have an hour until Magic Theory. Lunch?”

Saeko nodded, grateful for having found someone to hang out with already.

 

***

 

“Hey, Tsukishima,” the dorm supervisor Naoi-san called out when he saw Akiteru returning from classes. “Can I ask another favour of you?”

Akiteru sighed and stopped in front of Naoi-san's room. “I already helped with first-year sign-ups,” Akiteru reminded him, not really in the mood to give up even more of his limited free time.

“I know, but we're really short on staff this semester,” Naoi-san explained. “I just need some help organising the welcome party for the first-year students. I'll even pay for your drinks if you help out!”

Akiteru didn't need the free drinks, he'd already been sold at “welcome party for the first-year students”. Not that he was much of a party person, but there was a good chance that Tanaka-san would be attending. It was embarrassing to admit, but every time he caught a glimpse of Tanaka-san on campus, Akiteru's heart would skip a beat. It was almost like he was a teenager again. But this time, he would do things differently. Instead of pining for Tanaka-san from afar, he would befriend her. And if the whole friendship thing worked out, maybe he'd be able to work up the guts to ask her on a date.

“Fine.” Akiteru affected a long-suffering sigh. The Naoi-san didn't need to know that he had ulterior motives.

“Thanks!” The Naoi-san's face was lit up by a relieved smile. “I'll make it up to you, I promise!”

 

Once again, Akiteru was sitting at a desk, greeting students. This time, however, he was in charge of handing out badges with their names, year and speciality on them before they entered the hall Naoi-san had reserved for the party. He'd been at it for almost an hour when Tanaka-san showed up.

“Tanaka-san! Nice to see you again,” Akiteru greeted her immediately before he noticed another familiar face following her. “Oh, and Kurokawa-kun! It's been a while!”

Kurokawa-kun had been his kouhai in the volleyball club, and like Tanaka-san, he'd eventually developed a natural glamour that had forced him to quit the club halfway through his first year. Akiteru hadn't approved of the way his teammates had treated Kurokawa-kun, but being a third-year bench warmer, he hadn't had any authority at all within the club.

“Hello, Tsukishima-san,” Tanaka-san said. “How much is the entrance fee?”

“It's free for first-year students like you guys,” Akiteru said, already writing their names and year on their badges. “What's your speciality?”

Kurokawa-kun and Tanaka-san raised their eyebrows at Akiteru, the movement almost synchronised.

“Mind-healing, obviously,” Kurokawa-kun said, rolling his eyes.

“Of course,” Akiteru mumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. He'd completely forgotten that a new course had been established in the magic department. That was probably also why Tanaka-san hadn't started university until now. She might not have been able to afford it without a scholarship. Akiteru quickly finished the buttons and handed them over. “Here. Have fun at the party!”

“Thanks.” Tanaka-san flashed a grin in Akiteru's direction before putting the badge on her t-shirt and entering the hall. Kurokawa-kun simply nodded, taciturn as always.

 

***

 

Saeko couldn't help but notice how people reacted to seeing her and Kurokawa-kun's badges. People who had approached them with friendly smiles at first would suddenly try to politely excuse themselves from the conversation once they realised that Kurokawa-kun and Saeko must have natural glamours.

Maybe she should've expected this. The stigma against people like her was still enormous. Just because the university administration had decided that they wouldn't be discriminating against people with a talent for mind-manipulation magic anymore didn't mean that everyone else would be on board with that decision. Oh well. It wasn't like Saeko wasn't used to this bullshit.

She dragged Kurokawa-kun to the bar and tried to order beer for the both of them but was quickly shut down when the bartender asked for ID. Her twentieth birthday was only a couple weeks away, but the bartender wasn't swayed.

“Fine, I'll have a coke instead,” she grumbled.

“Grape soda for me, please,” Kurokawa-kun added.

The bartender grabbed two bottles from the fridge behind him and opened them up for them. Once they had paid, Saeko turned around again to survey the room. There were clusters of students along the walls, talking and laughing without a care in the world. In the middle, there was a dance floor that was getting more and more crowded every minute.

“You probably don't feel like dancing, do you?” Saeko asked her friend. Kurokawa-kun just shrugged.

“It's not really my thing, but I can join you if you want,” he offered.

“Maybe once we finish our drinks,” Saeko said. It wasn't like she was desperate to dance specifically, but she'd come here to have fun, goddamnit! She couldn't let these assholes get to her.

 

***

 

An hour after Tanaka-san and Kurokawa-kun had entered the party, Naoi-san finally came to relieve Akiteru of his duty.

“Show this at the bar, and you'll get those free drinks I promised,” Naoi-san said, handing Akiteru a badge with a glowing fire rune on it. It was giving off a soft warmth as Akiteru brushed his fingers over the rune.

“Thanks,” Akiteru muttered, entering the hall. It took him a while to get used to the dim lighting, but once he did, he let his gaze wander across the crowd, taking advantage of his height to find Tanaka-san amongst them. When he finally spotted her familiar mop of bleached hair, Akiteru's throat suddenly felt tight.

She was dancing with Kurokawa-kun. Were they an item? Up until now, Akiteru hadn't even thought about the possibility that Tanaka-san might be in a relationship already. But as he continued watching them dance, Akiteru noticed how much distance there was between Tanaka-san and Kurokawa-kun. They were barely even touching each other. Maybe they were just friends after all.

Gathering up all his courage, Akiteru shoved his way through the crowd. Once he was close enough to Tanaka-san and Kurokawa-kun, Akiteru started dancing, trying to make it look like an absolute coincidence when he eventually bumped into them.

“Oh, Tsukishima-san!” Tanaka-san yelled over the thumping music. “Are you free now?”

“Uh, yeah,” Akiteru replied, sneaking a glance in Kurokawa-kun's direction. His kouhai looked kinda relieved for some reason.

“Then you dance with Saeko-san,” Kurokawa-kun said, turning around to leave the dance floor.

“Huh? What's with him?” Akiteru asked, unable to make sense of what just happened.

“Kurokawa-kun doesn't like dancing,” Tanaka-san explained with a shrug. Then she grabbed Akiteru's wrists and grinned up at him, making him pray to whatever higher power was listening at the moment that she wouldn't notice his racing pulse. “But you'll dance with me, right?”

Akiteru was too shocked to speak, so he just nodded.

_Thanks for this opportunity, Naoi-san_ , he thought, trying his best to keep an appropriate distance between himself and Tanaka-san as they danced.

 

***

 

By the end of the night, Saeko was sweaty and tired, but it had been worth it. Tsukishima-san, despite knowing that Saeko and Kurokawa-kun had natural glamours, had spent the entire evening with them. He was a funny guy if a little shy at times.

“If you wanna leave, too, I can... um... accompany you, Tanaka-san,” Tsukishima-san offered, once Kurokawa-kun announced that he needed to go to catch the last train. He was living with his aunt, taking advantage of not having to cook his own food like he would've had to in the dorms. Saeko couldn't really blame him.

“Alright, thanks,” Saeko said. It wasn't a particularly long walk back from the party to the dorms, but Saeko still appreciated Tsukishim-san's company. A tall guy with broad shoulders like his was the perfect creep repellent.

“So you study mind healing now,” Tsukishima-san said as they walked down the road. “Must be interesting, considering that this is the first uni in Japan to establish a course for it.”

“Most of the terminology is in English,” Saeko said, “but it's definitely interesting. I've been told all my life that I should repress my talent and focus on other kinds of magic instead. This is a nice change of pace.”

Tsukishima-san nodded. “It always struck me as unfair. How people like you and Kurokawa-kun are treated, I mean. It's not like it's your fault that you can't control your glamours at first. When I first discovered my magic, I accidentally made my little brother float. That's way more dangerous than glamours.”

Saeko couldn't remember the last time she'd met someone with an attitude like this outside of her family and people who suffered the same fate as her. Maybe Master Ukai and some of his students, but they were clearly in the minority.

“I wish there were more people like you out there,” Saeko sighed. Tsukishima-san just laughed nervously.

“I'm nothing special.”

But to Saeko he was.

When they arrived at Building 2, Tsukishima-san stopped her in front of the door.

“Hey, erm...” Now he was definitely blushing. “Would you... Would you mind giving me your number? Maybe we could... meet up... for dinner... or something.”

There was something oddly endearing about how flustered he was. He was so much taller and stronger than Saeko, and yet he was doing his darnedest to shrink in on himself, shoulders slumped and eyes trained on the laces of his shoes.

“Sure,” Saeko agreed. “Give me your phone.”

Tsukishima-san fumbled for his phone, almost dropping it as he pulled it out of the pocket of his jeans.

“H-here!” he stuttered. Damn, he was cute. Saeko swiftly saved her contact information in his phone and then called her own phone so she'd have his number as well.

“There you go,” she said, handing back Tsukishima-san's phone. “I'll text you once I've gotten more used to my schedule.”

“Thanks.” He looked down at his phone with a smile. They entered the building, parting ways when they reached the second floor where Saeko lived.

“Well, erm... good night, then.”

“Good night,” Saeko said, waving. Once she was back in her room, she flopped down on her bed and got out her phone again.

 

To: Kurokawa Hiroki

> I wasn't accidentally glamouring people left and right this evening, right?

 

From: Kurokawa Hiroki

> Nah, I didn't feel anything

> Why are you asking?

 

Because for the first time in her life, a person who knew about her glamour was interested in her without being enchanted by her magic.

 

To: Kurokawa Hiroki

> I think Tsukishima-san is into me

 

From: Kurokawa Hiroki

> …

> You only noticed this now? He's been pining after you since high school

> Everyone in the volleyball club knew

 

Saeko blinked at her friend's message.

“Oh.”

Well, that didn't change a thing. Maybe this could work out. Not that she was planning to jump him any time soon, but she definitely wanted to get to know Tsukishima-san better.

Saeko wasn't the type to let a chance like this go to waste.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, if anyone is wondering who Nakashima Ai is, she's the mother of one of the Wakutani players.


	3. Not a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, life got in the way of my writing. It's probably not going to get a lot better in the next couple months, because I'm starting my thesis and then it's time for state exams, so I'll be quite busy. Rest assured, though, that I will not abandon my writing projects :)

Two weeks into university, Saeko had the distinct impression that the TA responsible for the psychology tutorial had it in for her and the other mind-healing students. If there was at least one person from the regular psychology department raising their hand to answer one of Mito-san's questions, he would completely ignore the magicians. The look on the TA's face whenever he was forced to address a magician made Saeko's blood boil with anger. His constant snide remarks about how mind healing was just an imported fad didn't help either.

“Relax,” Kurokawa-kun said on their way to their next class after Saeko had gone on a tirade about how much she hated Mito-san. “He's probably just jealous that us magicians are encroaching on his territory as a psychologist.”

“How? It's not like there's enough of us at university to even be considered competition in the job market,” Saeko growled. “It'll take decades for mind healing to become something that is widely available throughout Japan. And even then, it's not like we can completely replace people with regular psychology degrees because what we're about to learn about psychology is only a fraction of what they learn. None of us are going to be equipped to do proper research after this!”

Kurokawa-kun shrugged. “I know. But I don't think he knows that yet. He's also very likely prejudiced against all of us because of the natural glamours.”

“They tested our control at the entrance exam. We're not dangerous,” Saeko spat out.

“It's not that simple.”

“I'll prove all of these bastards wrong,” Saeko grumbled and pushed open the door to the lecture hall. She knew that it was silly to expect everyone at university to respect her despite the centuries of people like her being shunned. And yet, somewhere deep down, she had hoped that it would be different.

 

***

 

Over the last week, Akiteru had typed, deleted, then retyped and deleted the same message over and over again. Saeko had said that she would text him once she had gotten used to her schedule, so he felt awkward being the one to text her first. Then again, he had been the one to request her number, so maybe it was even weirder to wait for her to make the first move. On Saturday, Akiteru finally worked up the guts to send Saeko a message.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> Hey Tanaka-san! How have you been? I was wondering if we could grab dinner together on Sunday?

 

The following five minutes were nerve-wracking as he waited for her response. He tried to focus on his assigned reading but had to constantly start over again because his mind started drifting.

When his phone finally chimed with a notification, Akiteru almost knocked it off his desk in excitement.

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> Hey :) I'm doing well enough. What about you? Dinner on Sunday sounds good. 7pm?

 

“Yes!” Akiteru exclaimed throwing his arms into the air before quickly typing his reply.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> I'm doing fine. See you tomorrow at 7 then :)

 

When had he last been this excited about the prospect of going out for dinner? Akiteru couldn't remember.

He had another look down at his spellbook but decided that any further attempts at studying would be futile anyway. Instead, he got up and checked his wardrobe for something to wear tomorrow. He quickly found an acceptable pair of jeans, but he wasn't so lucky with shirts. He pulled out one shirt after another and either they were too formal or kinda old an worn. He didn't really have high standards for what he wanted to wear, not wanting to look like he was trying too hard, but he also didn't want to look like a slob.

Sighing, Akiteru decided that he might as well do a load of laundry.

 

_This is not a date,_ Akiteru reminded himself as he waited for Tanaka-san in front of their dorm.  _You are just going to be having dinner with her as a friend. This is not a date._

And yet, no matter how often he repeated that mantra, he remained on edge and couldn't help the nervous little flinch when Tanaka-san tapped his shoulder to alert him to her presence.

“H-hey!” he greeted her, hastily pushing away from the wall he'd been leaning against.

“Hi,” she said, sighing deeply. “Where are we going? I'm starving.”

“Er, I thought maybe we could go to this pizza place,” Akiteru suggested. “It's just a five-minute walk.”

“Pizza sounds great,” Tanaka-san said. “Lead the way.”

Something about the way she held herself today was different. Her shoulders were slumped and she dragged her feet a little. Akiteru was tempted to ask her about it, but he also didn't want to seem like a busybody, so instead, he asked her how her first weeks at the university had been. Tanaka-san seemed rather enthusiastic about all her classes except for one.

“It's really obvious that Mito-san doesn't want us around,” she explained, her hands clenched into fists at her side.

The name of the TA rang familiar, but Akiteru couldn't place it. Maybe he'd met him at the dorm once?

“I'm sure it'll get better once he gets to know you guys,” Akiteru said, hoping to cheer Tanaka-san up a little.

“I sure hope so,” Tanaka-san grumbled, letting out a distinctly unladylike snort of derision. There was a fire in her steely grey eyes – fierce determination that made Akiteru's chest feel tight. Tanaka-san was still as breathtakingly beautiful as she'd been in high school.

“But even if it doesn't get better,” she added, “I won't let this fucker stand in my way. I'm going to be the best mind healer out there, just you wait.”

“You don't seem like the type of person who can be stopped,” Akiteru agreed.

 

***

 

Saeko had mostly decided to meet up with Tsukishima-san to get out of her room for once. Recently, the only places she'd seen from the inside were university buildings and the dorm, so Tsukishima-san's text had come as a relief. As much as she was looking forward to the change of scenery, though, she still wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go out for dinner with a guy who was so obviously crushing on her. She didn't plan on outright rejecting him. She was rather fond of his type – tall and broad-shouldered with a sweet smile – but she'd had enough unfortunate experiences with men that had made her wary. Not that dating women had turned out to be any easier – it was hard to tell if a woman was actually flirting with you or just giving you a genuine compliment about your hair and makeup.

One thing Saeko hadn't accounted for, however, was how much fun she was having just talking to Tsukishima-san. Having grown up in the same small town, it wasn't hard to find things to talk about. They talked about Ukai Akemi, the owner of the local paraphernalia shop and gossip extra-extraordinaire, about their old high school and the Incident at the Cultural Festival that led to haunted houses being banned.

“But honestly, it was the vice principal's own fault that he lost his wig,” Tsukishima-san insisted, having actually witnessed the infamous scene. “He got scared by one of our 'ghosts' and whipped his head around too fast, and the thing flew off.”

“He should honestly just give up on the wig,” Saeko said, shaking her head in amusement and picking up another slice of pizza. “It's not convincing at all.”

Tsukishima-san nodded and put on a smug smile.

“It's good to see you smile again,” he said.

“Huh?” Saeko put down her piece of pizza. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you seemed kinda down when we met up,” Tsukishima-san explained. “You were sighing and grumbling a lot...”

Something about that statement rubbed Saeko the wrong way. Tsukishima-san probably didn't mean anything by it, but Saeko was fed up with guys telling her to smile.

“So what? I can't always be in a good mood,” she snapped.

“That's... That's not w-what I mean!” Tsukishima-san stuttered. “I'm not trying to say that... that you have to smile or something? I just... I mean... I just like it better when my... um... friends are happy...”

_God, this guy is just too cute_ , Saeko thought, leaning back in her chair.

“So you wanna befriend me?” she asked.

“Er, yes?” Tsukishima-san replied, sounding puzzled.

“Why?”

“Because you seem... cool?”

Saeko wasn't quite satisfied with that answer, so she decided to stop beating around the bush.

“You sure it doesn't have anything to do with you fancying me?”

The look on Tsukishima-san's face was answer enough. His eyes went wide, his mouth hung open, and he turned as white as the napkin that was slowly sailing towards the ground as it slipped from his grip.

He cleared his throat and leaned down to pick up the napkin from below the table. When he resurfaced, he didn't meet Saeko's eyes.

“I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable,” he said, staring down at his last slice of pizza. “I just... I'd like to be your friend. Anything else is just a bonus.”

When he slowly lifted his gaze, a nervous little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, Saeko couldn't help but return it.

“Has anyone ever told you that you're cute?” Saeko asked.

“I don't think so?”

“Well, you are.”

“So that means I have a chance?” Tsukishima-san's eyes lit up with hope. Saeko could barely believe that this guy was supposed to be older than her with how awkward he was being about this whole thing. It was endearing, though.

“We'll see. Let's try this whole friends thing first, alright?”

 

***

 

Lying in bed at night, Akiteru had trouble falling asleep. He kept thinking about dinner with Tanaka-san and how easily she had seen through him. Had his behaviour really been that obvious? Well, at least Tanaka-san hadn't seemed too put off by it. And maybe it was for the best that his motives were out in the open now because he wouldn't have to worry about keeping up a facade.

Sighing, Akiteru turned onto his side and closed his eyes. In his mind, he saw Tanaka-san in front of the dorm smirking at him as they wished each other good night. She'd been in a much better mood when they parted ways as she'd been when they'd met up.

_That's a good thing, right?_ Akiteru wondered.  _It probably means she had a good time with me._

Suddenly, the  _ping_ of a text notification broke the silence in Akiteru's room. Curiously, he picked up his phone to see who was texting him.

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> You said you wanted to be my friend, right?

> Get used to the memes:

> [image]

 

Akiteru snorted at the funny cat picture. He could definitely get used to this.

 


	4. Testing the waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happened a lot quicker than I anticipated, but here it is! Hope you guys enjoy the awkward flirting!

“No way.” Mori shook his head and slurped on his iced coffee. “You've had a crush on her for ages, right?”

“Can you blame me?” Akiteru sighed and rested his forehead on the table in front of him. Why did everyone _know_? He'd never told anyone, not even Mori. But Mori was his best friend, so maybe it wasn't that surprising that he had noticed. “She's hot. Smart. Outgoing.”

“Yeah, she's basically everything that you are not,” Mori agreed.

“Hey!” Akiteru turned his head to frown at his friend and was met with a shit-eating grin.

“I'm kidding, obviously,” Mori said, taking another loud sip from his almost empty cup. “Are you sure she's not just leading you on, though? With this whole friendship thing, I mean.”

Another loud slurp. Akiteru was tempted to steal Mori's straw just to stop the noise.

“She's giving me a chance,” Akiteru retorted, irritated that his best friend would think badly of Tanaka-san. “She thinks I'm cute.”

Mori snorted, almost choking on his coffee.

_Serves you right_ , Akiteru thought as he watched his best friend cough and laugh at the same time. 

“ _Cute_?” Mori wheezed out and cleared his throat. “Damn. That's not a good thing. Girls don't want a guy who's cute.”

“How would you know?” Akiteru grumbled, straightening his back again. “Every single woman you have dated so far has dumped you.”

Mori rolled his eyes. “At least I actually managed to date them at all.”

Akiteru  _had_ actually managed to date a girl for a couple of weeks, back in his first year at university, but that was a relationship he would rather forget entirely. 

“I'm fine with not dating her as long as I can be friends with her,” Akiteru mumbled, leaning back in his chair, and thinking about how he'd met up with Tanaka-san and Kurokawa-kun for lunch last week. It had been fun and way better than watching and pining from afar. Tanaka-san had a wicked sense of humour, and she was passionate about so many things. Akiteru would've been fine just listening to her talk for hours.

“You're serious, aren't you?” Mori asked, shaking his head. “Honestly, this is why you're single. You're not aggressive enough.”

“I don't think she would've even let me get close if I'd been aggressive,” Akiteru shot back. “You do remember how she would react to being catcalled back in high school, right?”

With her natural glamour, Tanaka-san had attracted a lot of unwanted attention before she'd managed to get it under control. Admittedly, that glamour had been the reason why she had caught Akiteru's attention in the first place. Why would he have cared about some random kouhai he'd never even talked to? But the glamour had made Akiteru pay attention. He'd noticed how she didn't hesitate to talk back to teachers, how she laughed in the face of adversity, and how she'd rush out of school in the afternoon to make it to her magic lessons. To Akiteru, she seemed like a force of nature, a storm that would tear down anything and anyone that stood in her way. This was especially true whenever a guy got too close to her. She wasn't scared of stepping on people's toes, sometimes even literally, when turning down advances from senpais who thought her an easy target, who invaded her personal space and tried to intimidate her. Akiteru had sworn that he would never be one of those guys. He would never make a woman uncomfortable just because he thought she was attractive.

“Well, good luck with wooing her,” Mori said, shrugging. “Don't come crying to me if you end up stuck in the friend zone.”

Akiteru let out a derisive snort and was about to tell Mori to fuck off, but his friend was already getting up from their table.

“I gotta go to my next lecture,” he said, picking up his empty plastic cup and walking over to the bins. Akiteru sighed, flicked his wrist and sent his own cup flying through the air with magic.

“Show off,” Mori muttered as Akiteru dropped the cup into the bin.

 

***

 

“... and here you can see a scan of a brain that has been forcefully glamoured,” Nakashima-sensei said as she carefully pushed a stroller back and forth, trying to get her youngest daughter to fall asleep. It wasn't unusual for her to bring her toddler along to lectures. Saeko and the others had learnt to ignore the tiny human who would occasionally crawl around in front of Nakashima-sensei's desk, even if the baby was really cute.

“See this area?” she asked, pointing at a dark spot on the image. “If we compare this to a healthy brain,” she said and changed the slide, “we can see that certain areas of the brain are not as active as they should be. This is, of course, reversible, but people usually take a long time to recover. It will be your job as mind healers to speed this process along.”

Saeko could feel her guts twist uncomfortably. She knew how it felt to be forcefully glamoured. It had been quite some time since it had happened to her, but the memory was still fresh in her mind. The helplessness, the fear and then that feeling of watching your body from the outside as someone else's mind took over. She wasn't surprised that an experience like that could cause lasting damage. If her friends hadn't been around at that time and hadn't stepped in... Saeko didn't want to imagine what would have happened.

When Nakashima-sensei finally dismissed the class, Saeko heaved a sigh of relief.

“Am I the only one who thinks it's weird to expect a victim of a forceful glamour to let themselves be glamoured again by a mind healer?” Kurokawa-kun asked while he waited for Saeko to finish packing up her notes and pens.

Saeko shrugged. “I would've liked to have the option, honestly.”

Kurokawa-kun hummed, drawing his brows together in a frown as he contemplated Saeko's statement.

“I guess it beats being traumatised...”

“Well, I'd rather stop thinking about trauma,” Saeko said, putting an end to that line of conversation. “Tsukishima-san is probably waiting for us in the cafeteria.”

 

Tsukishima-san was indeed already sitting at their usual table by the window, waving as Kurokawa-kun and Saeko approached with their trays of food.

“How did the lectures go?” he asked once they'd settled down and started eating.

“Learning about forceful glamours is kinda depressing,” Kurokawa-kun grumbled before stuffing his face with fried rice.

“They are teaching you forceful glamours?” Tsukishima-san asked, raising an eyebrow. He sounded vaguely alarmed.

“Nah, they are teaching us about the _effects_ of forceful glamours,” Saeko corrected him.

“Oh, okay. That makes sense,” he said. “Glad I was never hit with one of those. It was enough for me to be glamoured by you guys.”

Next to Saeko, Kurokawa-kun almost choked on his rice.

“You alright there?” Saeko asked as he started coughing violently.

Kurokawa-kun held up a hand, wheezing “gimme a sec” in between coughs. Finally, he gulped down some water before shaking his head.

“I glamoured _you_?” Kurokawa-kun asked, his voice a little gravely after that coughing fit.

“Uh...” Tsukishima-san sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. “I guess? I wasn't quite as affected as I was by Tanaka-san's glamour, but yeah...”

Saeko grinned. So Tsukishima-san was bi like her. She didn't really know why, but it was a comforting thought.

“Well, okay,” Kurokawa-kun said, focusing on his food again. “I didn't expect that.”

For a moment, silence settled over them like a dark cloud. Saeko could practically feel how uncomfortable Tsukishima-san was with the situation, obviously misreading Kurokawa-kun's reaction.

“Don't worry Tsukishima-san,” she said, unable to enjoy her lunch in this awkward atmosphere, “Kurokawa-kun's fine with it. He knows I'm bi. He's not one of _those_ straight guys.”

“I... er... okay.” Tsukishima-san tried to hide his blush by covering his face with his hands, but it was already too late.

“Honestly, I don't mind. I was just surprised,” Kurokawa-kun said, rolling his eyes.

“Doesn't make it any less embarrassing,” Tsukishima-san muttered. Saeko was overcome by a wave of fondness. Tsukishima-san was just too sweet, and the more time she spent with him, the more she could see herself falling for him.

 

***

 

So Tanaka-san was bisexual, too. Akiteru hadn't meant to out himself. He barely even gave his attraction to men much thought, never having felt the need to actually act on it. But he'd just forgotten that straight men usually didn't react to male glamours. All a natural glamour did was amplify attraction, and if there was no attraction to begin with, there would obviously be nothing to amplify.

Well, at least now he didn't have to worry about Tanaka-san finding out and being put off by it. Especially not after the text message he received the next day.

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> [link]

> What do you think? Is it just me or is this guy way too handsome to be an actual human being?

 

Akiteru clicked the link and was directed to an article about some stage actor getting married. Akiteru had never heard of him but the pictures that were attached to the article showed a tall, black-haired man with smouldering eyes and sharp cheekbones. Was this the type of guy Saeko was into? If so, Akiteru wasn't going to stand a chance of ever getting with her.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> He's hot. I certainly do not play in the same league as him

> Can't compete with those cheekbones

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> Stop that. You are plenty hot yourself

> Btw, have you seen his fiancée? Because hot damn

 

For the next hour, Saeko would bombard Akiteru with pictures of random celebrities, male and female alike, asking him for his opinion. Akiteru had no idea what her goal with this was, but he was having fun, and so he indulged her, occasionally sending Saeko a photo of someone for her to evaluate.

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> So what do you think of this guy then?

> [image]

 

Akiteru blinked. The photo was obviously cropped, but it showed him wearing his school uniform, someone else's hand resting on his shoulder.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> Where'd you get that from??

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> Kurokawa-kun :)

> You look adorable in gakuran

 

Akiteru groaned.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> Adorable is not a compliment

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> If it's any consolation, I don't think you're adorable anymore. You're pretty attractive actually

 

Akiteru didn't know what was even going on anymore. His face felt like it was going to catch fire any moment now, and his heartbeat was picking up speed.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> Are you flirting with me?

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> Maybe? ;)

 

So much for Mori's concerns about Tanaka-san trying to lead him on.

 

***

 

Saeko wasn't quite sure why she was doing this over text. They lived in the same freaking building. She could've just gone upstairs and talked to Tsukishima-san in person. Then she would've been able to see his face and the blush that was inevitably going to rise to his cheeks. She would've been able to hear the slight stutter in his voice and the way his breath would catch in his throat when she caught him off guard. But Tsukishima-san would've been able to see her too, would've probably noticed that she was just as nervous as she was, and Saeko just wasn't ready to show vulnerability yet.

 

From: Tsukishima Akiteru

> I can't believe this

 

Saeko frowned at her phone.

 

To: Tsukishima Akiteru

> Why? I thought you were interested in me

 

From: Tsukishima Akiteru

> That's the point tho? The most beautiful woman I've ever met is flirting with me after telling me she wants to try being friends first

 

Oh. Holy shit. Had he actually just called her “the most beautiful woman” after her having sent him pictures of freaking supermodels all afternoon?

 

To: Tsukishima Akiteru

> Stop itttt

> I'll only take compliments that are not over the top

 

From: Tsukishima Akiteru

> It's the truth??

> Okay, honestly, I am terrible at flirting

> Pls just take my compliments, I can't come up with better ones

 

Laughter bubbled up through Saeko's throat. She couldn't remember if a guy had ever been this careful and honest with her in his attempts to woo her. It was a refreshing change of pace.

 

To: Tsukishima Akiteru

> Fine, I'll accept your compliments

> But still. I sent you photos of professional models!

> I seriously can't be “the most beautiful woman” you've ever come across

 

From: Tsukishima Akiteru

> Have you ever heard of photoshop?

> Because those men and women were all photoshopped

> You are not

 

Saeko's heart skipped a beat. Wow. Didn't Tsukishima-san just say that he wasn't good at flirting? If he had said these things to her face, Saeko wouldn't have been able to handle it. Just reading them in his text messages was enough to make her blush!

 

To: Tsukishima Akiteru

> I'm so glad you can't see my face right now >///<

 

From: Tsukishima Akiteru

> Same

> I did not expect this conversation to take this turn

> But I'm glad it did

 

Saeko was glad, too. Maybe going out with Tsukishima-san would turn out well. Maybe she'd finally managed to find a guy who valued her and respected her boundaries.

 


	5. Injustice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaahhhhhh my brain is mush, but have a new chapter anyway

From: Tanaka Saeko

> btw

> What's up with the polite speech?

> We're friends, right?

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> It's a habit, I guess?

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> Well, drop that habit, Akiteru-san

 

Akiteru almost fell over as the bus took a sudden sharp turn. Quickly, he reached out and grabbed one of the straps above to steady himself. He'd been too focused on his conversation with Tanaka-san. How was he even supposed to respond to her using his given name?

The last two weeks had seen a strange development in the relationship between Tanaka-san and Akiteru. Whenever they were communicating via text messages, there was a lot of flirting and suggestive uses of emojis. It was as if that first afternoon of texting had kicked down the walls between them. At least when they weren't face to face. Akiteru had barely been able to look at Tanaka-san at all the next day at lunch, and Tanaka-san had tried to act as if nothing had changed. If it hadn't been for her nervous fidgeting whenever Akiteru did work up the courage to look at her, he would've thought that their texts had been a figment of his imagination. But they were real, and the flirting resumed as soon as they weren't in the same room anymore.

Akiteru had no idea what exactly was going on between them, but he was happy about any step that led him closer to an actual romantic relationship with Tanaka-san.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> Does that mean you want to me to call you by your given name?

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> I certainly wouldn't mind. Unless you mind if I call you Akiteru-san??

 

Why would he mind? He'd always been a sappy romantic. The mere thought of his crush being comfortable around him, of her wanting to remove that detached layer of politeness between them... It was almost enough to make him miss his bus stop.

He jumped out the door at the last second, earning himself a glare from the driver. Sighing, Akiteru looked down at his phone and tried to formulate a message that adequately expressed just how little he minded that Tanaka-san – no, Saeko-san – had suddenly decided that they should be more familiar with each other.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> I'm fine with this, Saeko-san

> But only if this extends past text messages

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> Sure :)

 

***

 

Midterms were approaching fast, and Saeko was swamped with assignments and homework in preparation. She spent way more time hunched over books in the library than was probably healthy, cramming information into her brain and writing messy notes that she would later type up on her laptop, in the hopes that they would somehow turn into a coherent essay. But she had to pass her assignments and the exams if she wanted to start practising magic, so she fought her way through. She knew she could do this. She wasn't just a pretty face attached to a conventionally attractive body. She had brains and a goal, and she was going to work for it goddamnit.

 

From: Tsukishima Akiteru

> Are you still in the library?

> If so, wanna take a break and grab a cup of coffee?

 

Sighing, Saeko looked at the two pages of notes she had compiled today. She could probably use a break.

 

To: Tsukishima Akiteru

> Meet you at the café on campus in 5

 

She sent the text and shoved all her valuables into her bag. She touched the rune on the desk on her way out, making it light up red, so people would know that it was still in use. As she left the building, she had to shield her eyes from the sun. Being stuck inside all the time really wasn't doing her any good.

When she arrived at the café, Akiteru-san was already standing in line.

“How are the assignments coming along?” he asked after they exchanged tired greetings.

“Eh, I think I can finish the essay for my psychology tutorial tonight,” Saeko said, shrugging. She was particularly careful about this essay, not wanting to give the shitty TA any reason to give her a bad mark.

“That's good,” Akiteru-san said, smiling encouragingly. “There's only one more exam left for you otherwise, right?”

“Don't remind me,” Saeko sighed. “Magic theory is in two days, and I still need to review my notes...”

“Magic theory isn't that bad, usually. The prof even throws in a couple multiple choice questions now and then...”

It was nice being able to talk to someone who had more experience at this whole university thing. Having taken a break from education for such a long time, Saeko found it hard to get back into having to study, and Akiteru-san was always willing to give her a pep talk when she needed it.

“How are your midterms going?” Saeko asked as they sat down with their cups of coffee.

Akiteru-san shrugged and poured a pack of sugar into his cup. “Most of my exams are practical exams at this point, which is honestly a nice change of pace.”

Saeko couldn't help the pout.

“I wish I was at that stage already,” she muttered and took a sip of her coffee.

“You'll get there.” A fond smile tugged at Akiteru-san's lips, and Saeko felt a surge of warmth spread through her chest.

 

***

 

After his last practical exam, Akiteru collapsed onto his bed, exhausted, but also vaguely euphoric. His marks had improved compared to the last semester. It was always satisfying to see his efforts pay off.

The first thing he did once he'd properly settled down, was to get his phone out of his pocket to text Saeko-san.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> I raised my average mark to 85% this semester

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> Congrats!!

> You worked hard

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> Thanks :)

> How about you? Are all the results in?

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> [image]

> We'll get the results for our psych essays tomorrow, but the exams went really well

 

The photo showed Saeko-san's transcript of records.

 

_Introduction to Magic Theory: 89%_

_Introduction to Psychology: 92%_

_Safety Measures for Mind Healers: 81%_

 

Akiteru was quite impressed, but not necessarily surprised. He'd seen how much effort Saeko-san had put into studying for her exams.

 

To: Tanaka Saeko

> That's amazing, I knew you could do it!

 

***

 

_60%_

Something about the red numbers in the top right corner of her essay did not compute. There was no explanation, no markings and comments in the margins of the text, just a number that seemed to stare right back at Saeko.

“What did you get?” Kurokawa-kun asked, frowning.

“Sixty.”

“Me too.”

They looked at each other, and Saeko immediately understood what had happened. From the look on Kurokawa-kun's face he'd drawn the same conclusion.

“Should we ask the others?”

“Yeah.”

There was a clear pattern in the marks received for the essays they had had to write for the psychology tutorial. All the mind-healing students had marks in the sixty to seventy percent range while their mundane peers received outstanding marks.

It made Saeko's blood boil.

“This is discrimination,” she said, loud enough for the TA to hear.

“It's not my fault that you guys handed in mediocre work,” Mito-san said, disdain ringing in every word.

“Care to explain our marks then?” Saeko asked. Kurokawa-kun put his hand on her arm, trying to calm her down, but Saeko wasn't going to let this slide. She could handle being ignored in class. She could handle being talked down to. But this was going too far. “What's so bad about any of our essays?”

Mito-san simply looked down at his watch. “Well, time's up. Class dismissed.”

Saeko was about to lunge at Mito-san, but Kurokawa-kun tightened his grip on her arm.

“Don't. We'll do this differently,” he said calmly. “I have an idea.”

 

***

 

Akiteru had hoped that his first time drinking with Saeko-san would be under happier circumstances, perhaps to celebrate the end of midterms. But it seemed like that just wasn't meant to be.

“Kurokawa-kun reported the issue to the psychology prof and to the general administration of the magic department,” Saeko-san said, already slurring her words ever so slightly after her third beer. “But still. How _dare_ that asshole mark down all of our essays! And why the _fuck_ would he think that we'd let him get away with it?”

“You did get a passing grade, though, right?” Akiteru asked, nipping at his beer. He'd decided that it would be best if he stayed relatively sober today, just in case Saeko-san decided to do something stupid in her inebriated state.

“Yeah, he wasn't quite brave enough to fail us all,” Saeko-san grumbled.

“I know this whole situation sucks,” Akiteru sighed, “but at least he didn't interfere with you being allowed to participate in practical lessons.”

“Oh my god.” Saeko-san's eyes went wide. “I didn't even think about that. Holy shit. Mito-san could've set us all back an entire semester.”

The thought that there were teaching assistants and professors out there that could potentially hinder the education of dozens of students at a time was scary, even to Akiteru who had gone through most of his time at university without major setbacks. Telekinesis was in high demand, especially among emergency rescue teams and firefighters, and universities were bending over backwards to ensure that as many properly trained magicians left with a degree in telekinesis and rescue work.

Akiteru's world was completely different from the one Saeko-san had been thrown into. It shouldn't have had to be that way, but there was little that Akiteru could do to change the situation. So instead, he opened his ears to Saeko-san, listening and offering comfort whenever he could until Saeko-san clearly had had enough to drink.

“C'mon, let's get you home,” he said after he'd paid their bill, offering her a shoulder to lean on.

“I nnneed to pay you back,” Saeko-san mumbled, fumbling for her wallet inside her purse.

“We'll deal with that tomorrow,” Akiteru said, gently putting a hand on her arm to stop her.

“'f you say so.”

 

***

 

_What a shit day_ , Saeko thought. First the thing with the essays, and now Akiteru-san insisted that he should carry her piggy-back after she'd stumbled over her own feet, almost falling face first onto the pavement. She shouldn't have tried to drown her anger in alcohol around a guy. She should've known better. But then again, Akiteru-san had never overstepped her boundaries.

“You're not gonna drop me, right?” she asked, as Akiteru-san knelt on the pavement, so she could climb onto his back.

“I won't. And even if I did, I could catch you with magic,” he assured her.

Sighing, Saeko wrapped her arms around his neck and let him lift her up.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Saeko whispered, resting her head against Akiteru-san's shoulder. “Why aren't you shunning me like everyone else who was ever glamoured by me?”

Akiteru-san readjusted his grip on her legs and began to walk.

“Why should I? It was out of your control, wasn't it? I couldn't control my telekinesis at first either,” he said.

“That doesn't stop other magicians from hating me!” Saeko practically spat out her words. “There was this girl in my form... Kimura Ayako. She showed a talent for transformation around the same time I developed the glamour. And she...”

“Wasn't that the girl you punched?” Akiteru-san interrupted.

“Of course, you'd remember that.” Saeko sighed. “That wasn't my proudest moment. She called me a manipulative bitch for talking to her boyfriend. I never glamoured or even flirted with him. He was just on the library committee...”

“Sometimes people suck,” Akiteru-san said matter-of-factly. “It's not your fault.”

“I know it's not my fault!” Saeko grumbled, tightening her grip on Akiteru-san's shoulders. They were nice and broad, perfect for holding onto. “I'll show them. I'll show them all that I'm more than just some manipulative bitch. I'll get a degree in mind healing and make them all swallow their words.” She knew that she was repeating herself, but Akiteru-san didn't seem to mind.

“I know you will,” he said.

Through the fabric of her jeans, Saeko could feel his thumbs draw comforting circles, and suddenly, she realised just how ridiculous this whole situation was. She was drunk and vulnerable, but she'd never felt safer than here on Akiteru-san's back.

“I'll kill you if you try to take advantage of me,” she mumbled.

“I would never try to do anything to a drunk person,” he protested.

“I wish all guys were like you.”

 


	6. Overcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take no responsibility for any tooth rot that results from people reading this chapter lol Akiteru and Saeko just ran away with me so you should blame them.

As Saeko woke up, the first thing she noticed was a splitting headache that was only getting worse when she opened her eyes. So she closed them again and turned around on her stomach, hiding her face in her pillow. Her memories of what happened the night before were slightly fuzzy but clear enough for her to remember how Akiteru-san had had to take care of her.

He'd paid for their drinks, carried her home, tucked her in bed and made her drink some water, and then when she'd asked him if he would stay...

Saeko's head whipped up way too fast, making her wince in pain. But there Akiteru-san was, curled up on her floor, using his jacket for a pillow and the thin blanket she kept in her closet for when it was going to get even warmer in summer.

Tsukishima Akiteru was a freaking saint, and she loved him. What had started out as curiosity at why someone as sweet as him would be interested in her had turned into something stronger, something Saeko hadn't felt in a long time. It was as scary as it was exhilarating, but when had that ever stopped Saeko from getting what she wanted? Especially now that she knew that Akiteru-san was the type to take home a drunk girl without even attempting to do anything untoward. He was trustworthy and caring, and Saeko would be stupid to let her fears keep her from pursuing him properly.

So she got up with the intent to make breakfast. Akiteru-san stirred, grumbling unintelligibly as Saeko stepped around him, but his eyes remained shut. She pulled open her desk drawer where she kept her medical supplies and took some paracetamol before heading to the kitchen.

One of her flatmates was sitting at the kitchen table, grunting a terse greeting, but otherwise uncaring as Saeko toasted bread and made two cups of coffee. Only when she was about to return to her room did Saeko's flatmate speak up.

“You've got company over?” she asked.

“Uh, kinda.” Saeko shrugged. “Depending on how this conversation goes, you might see him around a lot.”

“Nice.”

 

***

 

The smell of coffee and toast permeated the air, rousing Akiteru from his sleep. Opening his eyes, he felt more than slightly disoriented. He was on the floor in a room that was at the same time familiar and unfamiliar. It had the same layout as his own dorm room, but it couldn't be his since it was decorated entirely differently. As he turned on his back, he saw Saeko-san's face grinning down at him from where she was sitting at her desk, and suddenly, the memories of last night came rushing back.

“Good morning,” Saeko-san said. “I made coffee and toast. If you want any.”

“Uh, yeah. Morning. Breakfast sounds good,” Akiteru muttered, trying not to think about how it had felt to carry Saeko-san home to the dorms. She'd been warm and soft, and despite the alcohol she had consumed, she'd smelled so nice... And then she'd asked him if he really had to leave, so he'd stayed, and now here he was, accepting a steaming mug of coffee with milk.

“How's your head?” he asked, fairly sure from how tired she looked that she must be suffering from a terrible hangover.

“Nothing some painkillers can't cure,” she said and took a bite out of her buttered toast. “Hey, I've got a question for you.”

Akiteru took a sip of his coffee, which was nice and strong despite the milk. “Hm?”

“The thing about you being interested in me... That's still true, right?”

Frowning, Akiteru lowered his mug and put it down on the floor in front of him. Saeko-san hadn't been this direct with him in weeks, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

“Yeah? Why wouldn't it be?”

Saeko-san heaved a sigh of relief and smiled.

“Great. Because... I think I'm in love with you.”

Her words hit him like lightning – paralysing, shocking and electrifying. The most amazing woman he had ever met was in love with him. She reciprocated his feelings. Tanaka Saeko was in love with _him_.

“Akiteru-san?” Concern was colouring her voice as he continued to stare up at her, and then concern morphed into outright panic. “Holy shit! Why are you crying?!”

Akiteru hadn't even noticed the tears running down his cheeks until Saeko-san pointed them out to him. He'd always been easily moved to tears, especially when he was happy. He'd cried when his kid brother had been accepted at his middle school of choice, he'd cried when he himself had received the acceptance letter from Kyoto University, and now he was crying as the woman he loved accepted his feelings for her. It was stupid and embarrassing, but as Saeko-san knelt down in front of him, dabbing at his cheeks with a bunch of tissues, Akiteru was the happiest man on earth.

“Oh my god, please stop crying, you're freaking me out here!”

Akiteru laughed. “I'm sorry. It, er... It happens sometimes,” he admitted. “I'm just... really freaking happy.”

Saeko-san shook her head, a fond smile making her eyes sparkle. She pushed Akiteru's mug out of harm's way and got closer. She'd apparently given up on the tissues, cupping Akiteru's face in her hands instead.

“You are the cutest guy I have ever met in my entire life.”

Akiteru placed his own hands over Saeko-san's smaller ones.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked shakily.

“Not if I kiss you first,” Saeko-san quipped and leant forward.

 

***

 

Saeko would've loved to spend the rest of the day in Akiteru-san's lap, blissfully wrapped up in his arms and kissing him senseless. He'd finally stopped crying, instead opting to put on a stupidly cute grin whenever Saeko pulled back for a moment. Eventually, however, their little make-out session was interrupted by a phone call.

Saeko was hell-bent on ignoring the ringing, but Akiteru-san wasn't having any of that.

“What if it's important?” he asked. “We can continue this later.”

“Fine,” Saeko grumbled and grabbed her purse off of the floor where she'd left it last night, but refused to move from Akiteru-san's lap. Kurokawa-kun's name was flashing across her phone screen.

“He _never_ calls,” she muttered and picked up the call. “What's up, Kurokawa-kun?”

“Finally. What took you so long? Don't tell me you were still asleep?” he asked.

Saeko snorted. “I was busy snogging Akiteru-san.”

“Ah, congrats,” was all Kurokawa-kun had to say about that before moving on. “Well, the profs want to meet with all the students from Mito-san's tutorial to discuss the whole discrimination situation.”

“Oh. And why couldn't you just text me?”

“I have been texting you all morning, Saeko-san,” he said exasperatedly. “The meeting is in an hour so I thought it would be best to tell you...”

“Fuck! Okay. Thanks for letting me know,” Saeko said. “Where are we going to meet?”

“The psychology lecture hall.”

“Thanks. I'll be there. See you then.”

“Bye.”

Akiteru-san had waited patiently as Saeko finished her call before he asked her what was going on. She gave him a last peck on the lips before getting up and explaining the situation.

“Oh, wow,” he said, watching as Saeko downed her cold coffee and bit into her half-eaten toast. “I didn't think they would react to your complaints so fast.”

“Me neither,” Saeko admitted. “Well, I gotta go shower and put on some fresh clothes.”

“Don't let me keep you. We could maybe grab some dinner tonight, though?” he suggested.

“Sounds good. I still gotta make it up to you that you paid for my drinks last night.”

 

***

 

Saeko-san's kisses were still lingering on his lips as Akiteru returned to his room, and yet, he felt like everything that had transpired downstairs had happened on some alternate plane of existence, like he would wake up from this dream any moment now to find himself on Saeko-san's floor again, but this time she wouldn't confess her feelings for him. It was a stupid thought, of course, and Akiteru knew that perfectly well, but it still felt surreal to him.

Sighing, he sat down on his bed and plugged in his phone charger. The battery had run out during the course of the morning, and as the phone switched back on again, Akiteru received multiple text messages. One from his mum, asking how his midterms had gone, multiple in the group chat with his classmates, and one more from Mori.

 

From: Mori Yukinari

> So my friends in the elemental department are organising a match-making party and they're short one guy. I know you don't really do those, but the other guys would be willing to pay for your drinks to make it up to you. You in?

 

To: Mori Yukinari

> 1) I have an actual, honest to god date with Saeko-san tonight

> 2) Even if I had time, no amount of bribery would make me go to a match-making party

 

From: Mori Yukinari

> …

> You're shitting me

 

To: Mori Yukinari

> I'm not yet 100% sure I'm not dreaming

> But Saeko-san and I are a thing now

 

From: Mori Yukinari

> You lucky bastard

 

Akiteru was about to reply when a new message notification flashed across his screen.

 

From: Tanaka Saeko

> I'm looking forward to tonight <3

 

Laughing, Akiteru let himself fall back onto his pillow. His heart felt light like it would float away if he wasn't careful.

 

***

 

Sitting in the lecture hall that day, Saeko felt powerful. Not because she suddenly was in a relationship or some other bullshit reason like that. No. It was the atmosphere of the group surrounding her. She and her classmates had been wronged and were now seeking justice. It felt incredibly good not to be alone in this struggle.

“Yesterday I received multiple complaints about one of my teaching assistants mistreating the mind-healing students in his tutorial,” their psychology professor, Hara-sensei, said, obviously trying to go for a diplomatic approach. “Mito-san has denied any wrongdoing on his side, but we can't rely on his word alone.”

Next to him, Nakashima-sensei was fuming with rage.

“We have already heard his side of the story,” she said through clenched teeth, “so now we would like to hear more specific complaints from you.”

Being able to air all their grievances was cathartic. Saeko and her classmates laid out every instance of Mito-san giving the regular psychology students preferential treatment until finally Nakashima-sensei and her colleague demanded to see their essays.

Nakashima-sensei's anger only grew more pronounced as she skimmed through a couple of example essays. Hara-sensei, meanwhile, was shrinking in on himself as he had to admit that his teaching assistant was in the wrong.

“I will personally have another look at all of the essays, including those of your mundane classmates,” Hara-sensei promised. “I will also keep a closer eye on Mito-san's conduct, however, I think it would be hasty to remove him from his position entirely.”

It wasn't an ideal situation. Saeko would have preferred the tutorial to be taught by someone else from now on, but the protest of her and her classmates fell on deaf ears. As she left the lecture hall with Kurokawa-kun, she let out a deep sigh.

“That could've gone better.”

“Could've gone even worse, too,” Kurokawa-kun said with a shrug.

 

***

 

“Damn, can't they just fire him?” Akiteru asked. As they waited for their food to arrive, Saeko-san told Akiteru about the meeting with the professors.

“Well, Nakashima-sensei thinks they should, but Hara-sensei wants to give him a second chance, and since it's a tutorial to accompany his lecture, he's the one in charge.”

“God, that's frustrating,” Akiteru groaned.

“Well, at least our marks will be fixed...” Saeko-san pursed her lips. “I still wish he'd been fired, though.”

It was an evening like many before – sitting in their favourite pizza restaurant, eating and talking, sometimes sharing moments of comfortable silence – and yet Akiteru was acutely aware of the difference in atmosphere. It was like they were gravitating towards each other, leaning further across the table as the evening went on until finally, Saeko-san laced her fingers with Akiteru's. As he looked down at their intertwined hands, Akiteru couldn't help the smile.

“You know, there's not a lot I can do about what's going down at uni,” he said, carefully choosing his words, “but I'll continue to be there. I want to support you, and if you could support me in return...”

Saeko-san squeezed his hand. “I'm glad you're always around. And I'll be around, too. It's not like there's a lot I can do for you either, but we'll figure this out.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this, there's only the epilogue left :3


	7. Epilogue

The Tanaka family's house was filled to the brim with people, laughter and celebration. Saeko's parents had insisted on inviting everyone when they'd heard that she and Akiteru would return to Miyagi for a visit after her graduation ceremony.

“I'm so proud of you, nee-san,” Ryuu repeated for what felt like the dozenth time.

“I think she knows that by now,” Ennoshita-kun reminded his boyfriend.

“It's still true, though!”

Saeko just smiled and shook her head. It was surreal to think that, starting in two weeks, she would start her internship at a mental health clinic in Kyoto. Having a degree was a huge milestone, but her journey was far from over.

“I'm not a mind healer just yet,” she said quietly.

“But you're closer to your goal than ever,” Master Ukai said, sipping at his hot sake. Across the table, his grandson was keeping a close eye on him because the healers had forbidden Master Ukai from drinking more than one cup of sake a day.

“That's what I've been telling her,” Akiteru chimed in, wrapping an arm around her waist. “None of those idiots from high school would _dare_ say anything against you now.”

Saeko leant into her boyfriend's embrace. He was probably right. They all were. Why else would they even be having this party? And so she let herself be swept up in the spirit of celebration, laughing and drinking. She could worry about what it would be like to work alongside mundane psychotherapists another day, and even if there would be problems, she would overcome them. Her friends and family, and especially Akiteru, had her back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, I'm glad I managed to get this entire thing out of my system. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you guys all enjoyed reading it! Thanks for the kudos, comments, etc!  
> Edit: Since I was asked: The shitty TA sadly wasn't fired because life sucks somtimes, but Saeko also didn't have to deal with him past that first semester ;)

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://gilrael.tumblr.com), [Pillowfort](https://pillowfort.social/Gilrael) and [myWriteClub](https://www.mywriteclub.com/beta/writers/Gilrael) if you want to keep up with my writing :)


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